Following the establishment of International Humanitarian City (IHC) under the formal decree published on April 9, 2007 and the establishment of a new board of directors with Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein as Chairperson, the global humanitarian and aid hub will relocate to specially designated land in Dubai World Central to take advantage of the access to port and airport facilities, enhancing the organisation’s focus on humanitarian logistics and specialised services.

International Humanitarian City is an independent free zone authority created through the merger of Dubai Aid City and Dubai Humanitarian City and licensed by the Government of Dubai to operate independently. It combines Dubai’s strong humanitarian tradition with its dynamic growth, to create a world class centre for humanitarian aid, relief and development with both a regional and global outlook.

Already a home to more than 50 NGO’s, UN organisations, charities and humanitarian supply organisations, the new relocated facilities will offer a strengthened platform and physical infrastructure which will include zones for warehousing and logistics, emergency response operations, administration offices for global, regional and local non-profit humanitarian organisations and a separate business park for commercial entities operating in the humanitarian sector. The environment has been designed to maximise logistical and administrative efficiencies with a concentrated focus on all stakeholders involved in humanitarian aid efforts to ensure speed of access, speed of mobility and a well developed networking environment.

With office, warehousing and logistics facilities in one secure area, one of the key facets of the IHC will be the ability to provide a global emergency response solution to facilitate the delivery of coordinated instant global relief. With unparalleled advantages as a transport and logistics centre, both in terms maritime and air transport, IHC has the ability to facilitate ultra rapid disaster response within a seven hour maximum flight time to all major crisis-prone areas and with a ten minute sea-to-air logistics capability.

At present, the IHC operates out of premises in Dubai located behind Business Bay in a secure compound, comprised of 4 office blocks and more than 21,000 sqm of warehousing. It will be relocating to new state-of-the-art facilities on a significantly larger land area in Dubai World Central, co-located with Jebel Ali International Airport and only five minutes from the Jebel Ali seaport.

The IHC is currently home to 57 organisations including eight UN agencies, 31 non-governmental organizations, and 18 suppliers including, UNOCHA, UNOPS, UNHCR, UNICEF, World Food Programme, World Vision, Red Cross and Red Crescent, Make a Wish Foundation and the International Rescue Committee, to name a few.